From Famagusta to Footscray – Bill Theocharides

Editors note: To set the scene of spending time in Bill’s home talking to him, I feel the reader would enjoy listening to the sounds of Stelios Kazantzides, Greece’s most prolific musician; who has many songs highlighting the experiences of the average Greek citizen during their post-war poverty struggles. The music is moving even if you don’t know the words. Bill sings each Friday night at the Greek club on Sydney road, singing numbers such as this one: https://youtu.be/8RhKvHz5G4Y

‘Did you know… that there is such a thing, as Female tomatoes?’. My eyes narrow, looking for Bill Theocharides to begin laughing and to explain to me that such a statement is a joke. ‘Nikki, Μπορείτε να πάρετε το μανταρίνι?’ Bill’s wife, Nikki, shuffles out of the kitchen, and produces a bright orange mandarin, straight out of a cookbook photo shoot. He explains “At the back of a Mandarin, is a dot. With tomatoes, when it has a dot like this, it is a male tomato. If it is anything other than a dot, it is a Female!’’. Bill senses my shock and adds ‘Mate, watermelons are the same! Next time you (sic) at Coles, check there are two different watermelons… the long ones are Male, the round ones are Female and they are the sweetest”.

This anecdote juxtaposes for me perfectly Bill’s relationship with Football, he is a supremely knowledgeable coach whose purpose is to impart wisdom on his playing group. This desire to impart his wisdom is borne of his desire to continuously learn, our interview takes in many topics highlighting his understanding of world history, including the tactics of the Spartan 300, the historic Ottoman empire and Alexander the Great. “I love to watch documentaries, read books… I even have my encyclopedia right here. My sister calls me the walking encyclopaedia!” Bill’s hand motions to his shelf with several well-read books adorning his loungeroom wall. “If I can’t find it in my books, I look it up on the internet”.

Bill and I chat in the lounge room of his spacious but cosy 3 bedroom home in Coburg, just off of Sydney road. His garden is well maintained, a long driveway with perfectly manicured grass, marble steps to the front door and ornate rose bushes guarding either side of the small staircase. His house is warm, the den and hallways adorned with dark brown timber, full of memories as shown by the scores of photos of children and grandchildren resting on walls, shelves, and any other space they can inhabit. Before I can pose a question to Bill, a steaming Greek coffee and an array of kourabiedes, galaktoboureko and samsedes is placed on a plate in front of me. I normally don’t drink coffee, but I have a weakness for Nikki’s sweet milk chocolate brown sweet brew. I take a sip from the small cup and look at Bill, he is looking far off into the distance, happy. I feel like I am in the comfort of the home of a good and old friend.

I was crying….crying in happiness.Coach Bill on his experience watching the Socceroos qualify for the 2006 World Cup

Coach Bill’s full name is Vassilakis Theocharides (Vasos for short, or affectionately we know him as Bill), arrived in Australia as a migrant from Cyprus in 1970. “I come from a place called Famagusta. This was a harbour city, and an important part of the silk-road trading route. It is in ruins now though’. We wax lyrical about his childhood and subsequence move to Australia. “My first job was to work at a reception of a big hotel, we used to have movie stars and politicians coming to stay. My job was to do odd things, like drive and pick up guests, millionaires mate”. This was a golden age for modern Cypriot history, booming tourism and lots of people coming to check out this quaint island east of Nicosia. Bill reflects briefly on his time at school “I studied at the Economica Gymnasium… if you ask me, I will give you a profit for the club by end of season!”.

“When I moved here, people moved to different communities where there were people already from different nationalities. I was lucky and got a job at the Ford Factory. I would meet the other factory players we call them, at training and played for Ford Falconts. There was 2000 people mate! I played there for a short while, then I moved to the Ford United to coach. We had at the time very good players, we had the Italian second team Goalkeeper, and the Senior Women’s Victorian coach was our head coach, there was a lot of pedigree”. For the football uninitiated, the modern history of Football in this country in many was predicated upon the creation of Factory teams. As a means of preserving their culture and improving their social connections within their work communities, many European factory workers founded teams in Australia’s then fore runner competition to the National Soccer League (NSL). These factory teams, along with the 1800’s established Parramatta Wanderers and Balgownie Rangers, football started to take off meaningfully in the country. It was an exciting time to be playing for a club in Australia, Bill reflects on the football scene at this time.

“Football has changed a lot since this time, it is more professional yes, but the game is less attractive now. You don’t have these players anymore that do unusual things, coaches now only want ready-made players”. ‘There were some great teams during these times mate, Footscray had JUST (Jugoslav United Soccer Team) with lots of good players, I like sometimes to still go watch Brunswick Zebras because they used to be very strong”. I ask Bill what he feels that refugees and migrants have brought to football, and first thinking of individually what he has gained from working with these groups. “I learned from Italian, Greek and Jugoslav coaches here in Australia. The system I use is based on these experiences, I always want to score goals and to dominate the other team”.

Bill’s contribution to the multicultural nature of football is staggering and was one of the stand-out reasons why I approached him to lead the club in 2021. His experience in local football is without peer, when I asked Bill which clubs, he has worked with during his time in Australia, I got a hand-cramp writing them all! Bill leans forward, hands clasped and eyes closed, club logos, team dinnersand scintillating wins whizzing through his mind “Western Suburbs, Northcote City, Oakleigh City, Caulfield City, Pascoe Vale, Williamstown Soccer Club, West Gate, East Altona, Moonee Ponds, Brunswick City, Westvale Olympic, Upfield Soccer Club, Mill Park, Dallas FC, Kensington Women’s, Fitzroy.. and now Footscray Rangers”. The sheer body of work across his time coaching means he is recognized on the street regularly “A lot of the players I coach in the old years still say hello, they are excellent players now and senior coaches for big clubs in Victoria”.

Bill’s love for the beautiful game is obvious, and is underlined by his support of the Socceroos, which surprised me. The day before our interview, Andrew Redmayne had saved a penalty after being substituted onto the field before the game was sent to penalties and our chat turned to this experience. I asked Bill what his views are on the state of the Socceroos team considering that great night, to which Bill replied “I always watch the Socceroos. I have never missed a national team game”. I shared with Bill what making the 2006 World Cup meant to me, instantly his eyes lit up “I was there in the stadium! MATE, I can’t explain… I was crying, crying with happiness”. This love extends to the admiration he has for his players. I think it is fair to say that Bill has high expectations of his group and reserves his praise for them when he and I speak in our weekly debrief about the weeks results.

When asked what he feels the teams’ strengths are, he replies “Eddie…. Jack… Galen….Max… Patrick, these players know how to control the game, Frazer is very versatile, if I can’t have him in midfield I have him at the back. Jack is an excellent penalty taker, I tell you this now ‘No goalkeeper, not even a A-League keeper, can stop his penalties”. His admiration extends to the future players of the club, which includes the likes of Lucas and Pato Rodrigues, Jonny and Steven Sokolov, Troy Stuart, Flynn Harrington and Angus Sutherland. Asked about his own future in coaching, Bill was philosophical. “If the club needs me, I will be here. The players here, they listen, and they want to improve. This is important for players to want to improve and to enjoy their football’.

There are people you meet in life who are so multilayered, that every chance you can spend meaningful time with them, you learn from, laugh with, or just feel richer for your experience for being in their company. Bill is absolutely one of these people, and I’m so grateful to have a person of this calibre associated with the club. Bill and I’s chat went well into the afternoon, at which point his younger sister came to have coffee with Nikki in the kitchen. I asked her for an anecdote of Bill growing up, and she mentioned that so many people take to Bill because he loves spending time with others, and especially in soccer because he loves helping them to improve. For all reading this, I encourage you to as much as you can, spend time with Bill outside of a competitive setting because you see so many sides to him that show the fullness of his character.

As a President of the club, you get a top-down view of the contributions that all people make to benefit of the club. We have outstanding individuals at the Rangers, and it should absolutely go without saying that Bill has at times over the past two years carried the club on his back through his sheer bloody-mindedness to improve. He also has contracted the help of his granddaughter Daniella, who affectionately refers to him as ‘papou’, Daniella helps the team every week with oranges and jelly snakes for snacks, in addition to providing first aid support of injured players. Bill has missed at most, 1 out of the 60+ training sessions and never misses a game for the team. This sacrifice of his own time for the benefit of our enjoyment cannot be understated, and I am so honoured that a person of this calibre is helping our club to grow.